ROCHESTER — After an end cap burst in Restaurant 103's sprinkler system Tuesday morning, owner Steve Moody says the restaurant is back up and running with little impact to the Mexican smokehouse establishment.

Shortly after the restaurant reopened following months of repairs in the spring of 2011, when a heater malfunction led to a burst water pipe then, too, the staff referred to themselves as “underdogs” for enduring the event.

Moody, a Rochester native who has worked for the restaurant for the last 26 years and took over as owner last summer, said that theme hasn't changed since he took the North Main Street location over.

“We've been through quite a bit,” he said. “…(But) we never let that get us down.”

Firefighters were on scene for about an hour Tuesday using vacuums to suck up water that was seen flowing out onto the sidewalk from the sprinkler break. Moody said there was minimal damage and even though his office flooded, the restaurant was reopened later that night.

Moody added restaurant chefs smoke all of their meats every morning. He fondly remembers working as dishwasher when he attended Spaulding High School, noting he has held every position in the building. He said he jumped at the opportunity to actually buy the restaurant and take it over in July 2012.

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Courtesy photo by Paul Dolnier
Rochester firefighters worked to clear Restaurant 103 of water on North Main Street Tuesday morning after a pipe burst there.

It's not typical for the department to assist with every flooding issue, but Assistant Fire Chief Mark Dupuis said his crew wanted to help Moody get to a point where he could continue the rest of the cleaning up on his own.

Regarding Tuesday's incident, Moody said he couldn't thank the Rochester Fire Department enough for their help.

“They were incredible. Without their help there we would have had so much more damage. I could not thank them enough,” he said. “…We want to let everyone know we are open and we're going 100 percent.”

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Courtesy photo by Paul Dolnier Rochester firefighters worked to clear Restaurant 103 of water on North Main Street Tuesday morning after a pipe burst there.